The trio Dongyang Gozupa – Korean for “Eastern high frequency” – formed in 2017 in Seoul, and following an initial EP and a bountiful debut album (2019’s Surface), they greet the spring of 2020 with an immense and ambitious new digital single. The music is composed by bassist Choi Woo Young, but neither he nor drummer Jang Do Hyuk set off fireworks here. They just lay the groundwork, working a familiar post-rock pattern of push and pull, tight yet comfortable. They respectfully cede the spotlight to their bandmate Yun Eun Hwa, whose instrument of choice, the yang-geum (the traditional Korean dulcimer), is unusual enough to earn the trio a unique place in the musical cosmology. Its iridescent timbre and tuning find a sweet spot between the familiar and the freaky, the plucked and the struck. Yun, however, plays with an infectious combination of zeal and precision that makes for truly memorable and exceptional music. At just over 21 minutes, “Creature” explores a lot of corners, adding up to strong piece in and of itself, and a fairly comprehensive introduction to a band worth further investigation.
